Monday, August 6, 2012

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

The day has finally come. The day of my last summer term blog post. Oh, if I could only tell my two-months-ago self that yes, indeed, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Or at least the first of three rest stops before the longed for exit off the grad-school highway. Sigh, we've jumped in and there is no turning back. Soon we will be technology champs riding the express train to employment. Right?

Friday's class helped to ease my nerves about successfully integrating technology into the classroom. We had a panel of five SeMAC graduates telling us their woes of grad school and the various paths that lead them to their current teaching positions.

They were all older than me, which also helped calm my nerves. If these people that didn't grow up in the world of MySpace dictating middle school social lives and bare-bones Power Points infiltrating the classroom, but could still embrace it at a later age, I could do it too. That being said, one day I might be on one of those panels, being that older generation that didn't grow up with having iPhones right out of the womb. Am I going to be able to keep up with the times once I have been out of the real world for some time?

It was also a relief to hear that all the members of the panel used technology to the extent they were comfortable. They did not feel pressured to use it in every aspect of their lesson plans- something I feared would be a common occurance. The panel's use of technology confirmed I can adapt my levels if usage year to year, and as my school provides more and more resources to support my technology use.

I noticed that a lot of the members of the panel looked a little embarrassed when asked how much technology they used- like it wasn't as much as Jeff expected. I often feel bad about my resistance to the amount of technology introduced to us each class, but maybe we learn so many technologies so we can find the select few that will stick with us and make our lives easier. If we didn't have such an overwhelming array of choices, we might not find anything that we want to use!

After the panel, our cohorts got together to discuss technology. Well, more like make impassioned speeches about our likes and dislikes. While I felt uncomfortable at times by the tones being used, I reminded myself that these tones showed people had passion- one way or another. People were able to voice different sides of arguments, even if those arguments did not sit well with other members of the class. Changing our ways involves a lot of give and take, a lot of fervent discussion, and that is what we saw in Friday's class. Another step in our journey of change.

1 comment:

There is one particular line of this post that grabs my attention: when you ask "Am I going to be able to keep up with the times once I have been out of the real world for some time?" First, i think about that a lot too. We are so involved in techhy stuff right now, but what about when we turn into dinosaur teachers? Who's going to keep us up on the latest/greatest? I also like your general phrasing..."out of the real world". Makes me feel like teaching is a planet away from this we are now, and even though I don't think you necessarily meant it this way, sometimes I feel like it is. I know in one short year I'll be singing a different tune, but for now it seems like I have lightyears to go & wayyy too much to accomplish in between then and now. I'm just glad I can temporarily put it on pause for a few weeks...